USA

ByCompiled from wire service reports by Ross AtkinMay 7, 2008

The Democratic-led House Judiciary Committee voted Tuesday to authorize its subpoena of David Addington, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, in a probe of possible US torture of suspected terrorists. Addington, who claimed he was immune from testifying, is one of several lawyers thought to have played a key role in crafting interrogation policies.

West Virginia University President Mike Garrison said he intended to stay on despite a no-confidence vote Monday by the faculty senate, which called for his resignation over an academic furor involving the governor. Faculty outrage has grown since an independent panel concluded April 23 that Heather Bresch, Gov. Joe Manchin's daughter, received a degree she didn't earn.

Civic groups in low-income sections of Los Angeles have begun to transform bus stops and other gathering places into public "living rooms," with chairs, plants, and even ottomans, according to the Los Angeles Times. The effort is proving to be a fast, inexpensive way to improve neighborhoods without gentrification.

Growers on Hawaii's Big Island report that crops are shriveling up two months after Kilauea volcano opened a new vent and began spewing "vog" or volcanic smog.